It's Sunday morning --- which means not only that I'll be heading to church soon to mark the second Sunday of Advent, but it's time to share my weekly trip to the scales. I weighed in at 143 this morning. 1 more lb. has officially entered the annals of history! (At least, I hope so.) My weight isn't dropping anywhere near as quickly as it did over the summer, but it's still dropping. And that's what counts most. 26 lbs. to go.
I was searching for some information about Nina Fedorova, the author of our Book of the Month for January and came across this darling newspaper write-up of a women's club meeting in Ludington, Michigan. The Lakeshore Sunday Club gathered at a private residence to hear a review given by one of its members on our featured book, The Family. After the book review, a young lady (who was probably the daughter of the hostess) played some songs on the piano and then they hit the refreshment table. It's a pretty detailed account of the evening - right down to the color of the candles. About the only thing it doesn't explain is why the Sunday Club was meeting on a Tuesday night!
Club Hears Review of Prize Book
Ludington Daily News, January 23, 1941
A splendid book review formed the program for the regular meeting of the Lakeshore Sunday Club, held on Tuesday evening at the home of Mrs. Ralph Sheldon, 403 North Robert street.
Mrs. Gail G. Owen, vice-president of the club, presided over the short business meeting in the absence of the president, Mrs. Erving Clark.
Mrs. Jack Abrahamson presented the program, an excellent review of the book, "The Family," by Nina Fedorova, which received the Atlantic Monthly Prize of $10,000. The author is a Russian citizen who fled her native country and is now living in Oregon. She plans to become an American citizen.
The story of the book involves a family of White Russians who fled to China, "and ordinary family which became un-ordinary." Their experiences after having established a boarding house in Tientsin make up the interesting story. The review was greatly enjoyed by the club.
Three lovely piano solos, played by Miss Jerry Lou Sheldon, concluded the program.
Later, delicious refreshments were served from a table appointed with spring flowers in a crystal bowl and with pink tapers in crystal holders.
Perhaps we'd better make sure our book group lives up to the standards of the Lakeshore Sunday Club. Would anyone care to serve as a Refreshments Committee of One? Maybe you can track down some 1940s menu suggestions for a club meeting and share some recipes with us in advance of our meeting on January 5. Even those who aren't able to track down the book can share in a recipe tasting in their own kitchen! Perhaps a Program Committee of One can suggest an entertainment for the evening that compliments the subject of the book. We'll need a Decorations Committee of One as well to recommend some decor appropriate to the season. Any volunteers?
6 comments:
I find it interesting in that photo that some ladies are sitting on the floor...I guess I never imagined that they would have done something so casual back then. I tend to forget that ladies then are like us now in more ways than I realize. (if that makes sense, I'm not quite awake yet!)
Congrats on another pound! :)
It makes perfect sense! The oldest women in the room seem to have scored the chairs, though. I love the way women used to cross their legs at the ankle like that. And their skirts are all just about the same length. They must have looked forward to dressing up for club meetings.
Well, it looks like I'm having some trouble finding the book. :( But I could do the recipies for this meeting! I've actually got a copy of the 1941 edition of the American Women's Cook Book on hold at my library right now. My 1940s apple pie went over big at the last family gathering, and I've had lots of requests to make another one for Christmas. So I thought I'd get the book again. I'll have it for at least a month, sometimes longer, so I'll be able to share authentic '40s recipes at the meeting!
I was wondering, if it's not too much trouble, would you mind posting the best seller list for the book club? That way, I'll know if I'll be able to find the books or not, and for the months I can't locate the books, I can be the recipe committee. :)
Great idea! And I'm looking forward to the menu!!! Here's a tentative Book of the Month Club list for the year to come:
FEBRUARY 2010: "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck
MARCH 2010: "Oliver Wiswell" by Kenneth Roberts
APRIL 2010: "The Nazarene" by Sholem Asch
MAY 2010: "Mrs. Miniver" by Jan Struther
JUNE 2010: "Kitty Foyle" by Christopher Morley
JULY 2010: "Windswept" by Mary Ellen Chase
AUGUST 2010: "Saratoga Trunk" by Edna Ferber
SEPTEMBER 2010: "This Above All" by Eric Knight
OCTOBER 2010: "Random Harvest" by James Hilton
NOVEMBER 2010: "The Keys of the Kingdom" by A. J. Cronin
DECEMBER 2010: "They Were Expendable" by W. L. White
Jitterbug, congratulations on the lost pound!
I like your book list. Half of those should be around here some place.
I can't promise anything right now. We might be in the middle of moving. As it is, right now everything is in a huge mess.
I'm with Gingerella. I am surprised that the women are sitting on the floor, but they probably didn't have access to folding chairs.
Sunday Club on Tuesday. Well, some churches/people would have considered it a sin to meet on Sunday. Also, after the women got home from church, cooked a huge Sunday dinner, washed all the dishes, got the children ready for Monday morning, etc. they probably didn't feel like getting all dressed up to go out again. Some of the women may have even have had to go back to church for another service.
I hear that! What I don't get is why they would've named it Sunday Club in the first place. :) Maybe meeting on a Tuesday was just a unusual exception.
Post a Comment